Forgotten Worlds (Mega Drive)

For the Sega Master System version, see Forgotten Worlds (Master System).

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Forgotten Worlds
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Virtual Console
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega R&D 2 M2
Licensor: Capcom
Original system(s): Capcom CPS-1
Developer(s) of original games: Capcom
Genre: Shooting
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code JP 1989-11-18 ¥6,0006,000 G-4016 US 1989-12 $57.9957.99 EU 1990 UK 1990 £34.9934.99 AU 199x CA 199x BR 1991-06 UK 199x £? ? JP ▼ 2008-09-24 600pts600 US ▼ 2008-11-17 800pts800 EU ▼ 2008-11-28 800pts800 AU ▼ 2008-11 800pts800
Non-Sega versions Amiga Amstrad CPC Arcade Atari ST Commodore 64 IBM PC Super CD-ROM²

Forgotten Worlds (フォゴットンワールド), known as Lost Worlds (ロストワールド) in Japan, is a shoot-'em-up that was originally developed by Capcom in 1988 for their CPS arcade system. It was ported to the Sega Mega Drive in 1989 by Sega.

Ports of this game are unusual in that Japanese releases use the export title of Forgotten Worlds, rather than the original Japanese title. Additionally, the Japanese Mega Drive release writes the "Worlds" part as "ワールズ" rather than the expected "ワールド" of other releases.

Story

Set in the 29th century, an evil god known as Bios has destroyed most of the Earth, turning it into a desolate wasteland known as the Dust World. Two nameless super-soldiers are created by the people to defeat Bios and the eight evil gods who serve him.

Gameplay

Shop

The game is a horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-up that can be played by up to two players simultaneously. Players control a team of two muscle-bound warriors who fly through the stages armed with rifles with unlimited ammo. The second player can join a single-player game in progress with the  START  button.

The warriors are moved in any direction with the D-Pad. They shoot with , but there is an "Auto Fire" option that fires their weapons continuously without needing to hold a button down. They also have a special attack that damages every enemy on screen at once by tapping twice, but this costs a small amount of health to use. Each character is accompanied by a satellite module orbiting near him that provides backup firepower every time he fires his gun. The warriors can rotate in sixteen directions to adjust their aim: rotates counterclockwise and rotates clockwise. Rotating the character while holding only rotates the aim of the satellite, while rotating the character without holding not only rotates the satellite's aim but also its relative position around the player. In two-player games, when the warriors are close to each other, lightning flows between them and increases their firepower.

Players obtain blue-colored coins called "Zenny" from defeating enemies throughout the game. Zenny is used as currency to obtain new power-up items from shops that appear at certain points in each stage, staffed by the mystical merchant Mirabella. Different shops contain different items, which include new weapons for the satellite module, a health kit to restore lost vitality, armor that allows the player to sustain additional damage, and tips on how to defeat the boss awaiting at the end of the current stage. In two-player games, players have separate Zenny and items. Enemies around the shop are destroyed upon exiting the shop.

Characters have health meters depicting their strength. In single-player games, the game ends if the character loses all of his health. In two-player games, a player can continue after a character dies by pressing  START  as long as the other character is active, but the game ends if both characters die. Players can buy resurrection potions in lieu of continues.

Stages have a hidden timer. If the stage is completed before time runs out, the players are awarded with bonus Zenny and a cutscene before the next stage.

The game has two difficulty levels (Normal and Hard).

Items

Coins

The game's currency, Zenny, is dropped by defeated foes.

	Tiny Coin
	Worth 100 Zenny.
	Regular Coin
	Worth 500 Zenny.
	Large Coin
	Worth 1,000 Zenny.
	Huge Coin
	Worth 10,000 Zenny.

Shop

A shop entrance appears at some point in every stage.

Offensive

The special weapons affect the attacks of the satellites.

	Booster 1
	Increases the firepower of the character's rifle. Costs 10,000 Zenny.
	Booster 2
	Further increases the firepower of the character's rifle. Costs 20,000 Zenny.
	Super Booster
	Powers up the character's rifle to its highest level. Costs 50,000 Zenny.
	Aura Stone
	In a single-player game, increases the character's damage. In a two-player game, increases the firepower bonus from being close together. Costs 30,000 Zenny.
	All Direction Shooter
	Fires small bullets in 8 different directions from the player. Affects a large area but shots are quite weak. Costs 3,000 Zenny.
	Missile
	Homing missile. Fires rapidly and chases enemies. Very easy to use but weak firepower. Costs 5,000 Zenny.
	Napalm Bomb
	Fires an unguided projectile that causes a small explosion if it hits an enemy. Powerful but slow firing rate. Costs 5,000 Zenny.
	Burner
	Short-ranged but powerful flame thrower. Damages enemies constantly due to the instant fire rate. Costs 20,000 Zenny.
	Laser
	Fires powerful streams of light that passes through enemies while damaging them. Low fire rate but good firepower. Costs 20,000 Zenny.
	Bound
	Fires shots that bounce off walls. Useful in tight spaces but slow fire rate. Costs 30,000 Zenny.
	Balcan Cannon
	Accurate and powerful ranged weapon with somehow slow fire rate. Costs 50,000 Zenny.
	Wide Shots
	Fires large blasts with good firepower and coverage. Costs 50,000 Zenny.
	Super Beam
	Even more powerful version of the laser. Costs 80,000 Zenny.
	Homing Laser
	A stream of lasers that chases enemies. The most powerful weapon in the game. Costs 99,900 Zenny.

Defensive

	Treatment
	Fully recovers health the character's health. Costs 300 Zenny the first time it is bought; the cost doubles with every purchase.
	Life Pack
	Increases the maximum length of the character's health meter. Costs 600 Zenny the first time it is bought; the cost doubles with every purchase.
	Armor
	Protects the character from damage 3 times. Costs 3,000 Zenny.
	Special Armor
	Protects the character from damage 5 times. Costs 5,000 Zenny.
	Potion of Resurrection
	Restores characters to life after death. Costs 20,000 Zenny the first time it is bought; the cost doubles with every purchase.

Other

	Information
	Provides a hint on how to defeat the next boss. Costs 100 Zenny.
	Flying Stone
	Allows players to change the movement speed between Copper (normal), Silver (fast), and Gold (very fast). Costs 100 Zenny.
	Dress
	Rewards 1,000,000 points after completing the game. Costs 99,900 Zenny.

Hidden

These items are hidden and revealed by shooting certain objects in stages.

	Armor
	Protects the character from damage 3 times.
	Star
	Worth 5,000 Zenny.
	Cow
	Worth 5,000 Zenny.
	Drum
	Restores partial health.
	POW
	Restores partial health.
	Yashichi
	Fully restores the character's health. This symbol occurs frequently as a bonus item in Capcom games.

Stages

	The Dust Planet 1
	The Dust Planet 2
	The Dust Planet 3
	The Pyramid of Terror 1
	The Pyramid of Terror 2
	The Cosmic World 1
	The Cosmic World 2

Versions

For its time, the Mega Drive version of Forgotten Worlds was one of the most faithful home conversions of the arcade game. However, it still makes significant cutbacks to compensate for the simpler hardware. Background graphics in the Mega Drive conversion are almost entirely different to the arcade, and animations were simplified across the board presumably as a space saving measure. Fewer objects are on-screen at any given time, and there are slight differences in level design and enemy placement. Furthermore, all sampled speech in the game was removed. Two entire levels are also cut to save space.

The Mega Drive version is also unusual in that it is one of the few Mega Drive games that have trouble handling 6-button controllers, including the Sega Nomad in its default 6-button mode. Attempting to play the game with a 6-button controller attached causes an immediate game over.

The shopkeeper, who is officially named "Sylpie", is named "Mirabella" in the Mega Drive manual.

Production credits

Main article: Forgotten Worlds (Mega Drive)/Production credits.

Mega Drive version

• Planner: Mino, Mu.Kondo
• Soft Programmer: Taku.Ayu, K.Koba
• Designer: Stresteles, Hide, D.Minow
• Sound: Ippo
• Game Check: Works Nishi, Gottochan
• Special Thanks to: Capcom

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: Forgotten Worlds (Mega Drive)/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1989-09: "September 1989" (1989-XX-XX)

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1989-09: "September 1989" (1989-XX-XX)

Print advert in Computer Games (GR) #3: "Ioúnios 1990" (1990-xx-xx)

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 30 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 67 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 70 Computer Entertainer (US) 67 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 82 The Complete Guide to Sega (UK) 82 Console XS (UK) PAL 82 Computer & Video Games (UK) 86 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 80 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 85 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 68 Hobby Consolas (ES) 79 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 75 Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J 73 MegaTech (UK) 82 MegaTech (UK) PAL 82 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 70 Mean Machines (UK) 85 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 82 Power Play (DE) 76 Raze (UK) PAL 72 Sega Power (UK) PAL 75 Sega Pro (UK) 66 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 72 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 64 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 65

	74
Based on 26 reviews

Forgotten Worlds (Mega Drive)

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, FR
Manual

Mega Drive, AU
Cover

Mega Drive, BR
Cover

Mega Drive, CA
Cover

Mega-Tech version

Mega-Tech,

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 95513985 MD5 c4b93e3420db39c312c2b4ba2b2a493f SHA-1 79aadecc1069f47a2a8b4a0a1d55712d4f9cb8ef	512kB	1990-03	Cartridge	v01
✔	CRC32 d0ee6434 MD5 c526426ebe919d4cd8fbb86157c0293e SHA-1 8b9a37c206c332ef23dc71f09ec40e1a92b1f83a	512kB	1989-09	Cartridge	v00

External links

• Sega of Japan Virtual Console pages: Mega Drive
• Nintendo catalogue pages: US, UK, AU

References

NEC Retro has more information related to Forgotten Worlds